• 225g new potatoes , cut into chunks
• 100g green beans , trimmed and halved
• 1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
• 1 garlic clove , chopped
• 1 rounded tbsp or 4 tsp Thai green curry paste (you can''t fit the tablespoon into some of the jars)
• 400ml can coconut milk
• 2 tsp Thai fish sauce
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 450g boneless skinless chicken (breasts or thighs), cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 fresh kaffir lime leaves finely shredded, or 3 wide strips lime zest, plus extra to garnish
• good handful of basil leaves
• boiled rice , to serve

Put the potatoes in a pan of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Throw in the beans and cook for a further 3 minutes, by which time both should be just tender but not too soft. Drain and put to one side.

In a wok or large frying pan, heat the oil until very hot, then drop in the garlic and cook until golden, this should take only a few seconds. Don''t let it go very dark or it will spoil the taste. Spoon in the curry paste and stir it around for a few seconds to begin to cook the spices and release all the flavours. Next, pour in the coconut milk and let it come to a bubble.

Stir in the fish sauce and sugar, then the pieces of chicken. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

Tip in the potatoes and beans and let them warm through in the hot coconut milk, then add a lovely citrussy flavour by stirring in the shredded lime leaves (or lime zest). The basil leaves go in next, but only leave them briefly on the heat or they will quickly lose their brightness. Scatter with the lime garnish and serve immediately with boiled rice.

by Pak101.com (few years ago!) / 1181 views